I have been hooking up a scarf in the most beautiful, soft, snuggly wool (yarn).
I have to take a step backwards here and say, that when we first decided to leave South Africa and settle in Australia, one of the big pluses on my never-ending list of pros and cons, was the fact that I was coming to craft heaven! I have long admired Australian quilters as they always seem to be hip AND amazing quilters, which isn’t always the case! But I imagined the amazing abundance of wool in the land of the sheep! Have to say I have been underwhelmed. I am sure that there are better places than the Gold Coast to find great wool but, seriously, its not happening here!
So when my parents came to visit and we had some willing babysitters, my husband and I headed off to the Blue Mountains and the Hunter Valley for a few days. The scenery was beautiful, although it was freezing! But anywhere I go, I always try to find the local Wool Shop and my husband no longer shows any resistance! In the Hunter Valley I found The Australian Alpaca Barn. Divine. But all the wool says ‘Made in Peru’ – turns out it is ‘grown’ in Australia and sent to Peru to be spun and then sent back here to be sold!! Close enough, I suppose….
The wool….
Its really soft, has the feel of mohair but without the prickle. I am a bit sold on how soft it is and am interested to see how it wears as a blanket out of alpaca may be lurking.
Its a beautiful pattern- easy to memorise, very quick, and it looks the same on both side of the scarf. This is a biggie for me as I am never (?) knitting another scarf that looks terrible on the wrong side and you always fiddling and adjusting.
Right side-wrong side
iPhone photo
This is one of me hooking in the carpark waiting for hockey to be finished! The pattern is the Angel scarf and I first fell in love with it when I saw it on another blog….OneFlewOver. Here is the link…. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/OneFlewOver/angel-crochet-scarf
Not quite finished yet but one more night of The Block and Masterchef and we will be done!
What a lovely story and what a beautiful scarf! Such a pretty color. I am allergic to wool…sob… Anyway, well done to you:)
What a lovely scarf and that yarn sounds divine. <3
The Bendigo Woollen Mills seems to be the place to find wool..and I think they have an online shop as well. Lovely work! I must admit I was a little underwhelmed with the choice of wool myself when I arrived here from NZ many moons ago.
I wish I could touch it thru the computer.. . tried.. didn’t work. Looks so soft & snugly!
Your scarf looks lovely, the colour is gorgeous. I think there is a yarn shop up your way called Evoke Yarns, and Woolganics is Australian and divine to work with – I think their online store is organicwool.com.au
Wow that is really beautiful… love the pattern!
I Love it! The pattern has to be one of my favorites.
Is the colour purple (a bit hard to tell on my monitor)? Now I’m wishing that I can crochet. What a beautiful pattern. Thanks for sharing.
The pattern is beautiful and so is the wool. Yes, the Gold Coast is probably the worst place to look for nice wool, which is a shame. But I do like your idea of tracking down wool shops while travelling!
Lovely scarf and wool. And I am glad to hear of a real wool shop. Eventhough I get alot online if there was a real shop close I’d be there. Having said that I just heard of a new yarn shop open in Wollembi only last week( close to the Hunter)
Your scarf looks lovely and warm! The colour is very pretty too!
that scarf is just gorgeous. I love the colour of the wool.
thanks for the link.
I love alpaca wool and this looks beautiful…
It’s such a shame about it having to be sent away to spin…a hole in the market…maybe you could set up your own cottage industry?!
The colours are beautiful and the pattern is beautiful.
Hi. I am in Queensland too. So glad that I am not the only one that finds the yarns available here, well, lacking. Ordered yarn from the USA & Japan in the last couple of days.